During an appearance on Fox News on Monday evening, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said he's confident that Republicans have enough votes to confirm a President Donald Trump's Supreme Court justice nominee.
"We've got the votes to confirm Justice Ginsburg's replacement before the election," Graham told Sean Hannity on Monday. "We're going to move forward in the committee, we're going to report the nomination out of the committee to the floor of the United States Senate so we can vote before the election. Now, that's the constitutional process."
The Republican caucus currently holds a 53-47 voting edge over Democrats. So far, two Republican senators — Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski — have said they will not vote for Trump's nominee, saying that whoever wins the 2020 presidential election should select the new justice. Should a 50-50 tie occur, Vice President Mike Pence would break the tie and likely vote to confirm Trump's nominee.
Graham is the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee and will run the confirmation hearings for Trump's nominee. He was also the head of that committee in 2018 when Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed amid allegations of sexual assault.
Protesters gathered at the homes of Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday to call for a delay in the nomination process. Graham said the protests would not sway his decision.
"After Kavanaugh, everything changed with me," Graham told Fox News. "They are not going to intimidate me, [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell, or anybody else."
